Jump starting 2014 with my Belle de Jour Power Planner

26 December 2013

'Tis the day after Christmas, so let the preparations for the New Year commence!

One of my favorite things about the turning of another calendar year is picking out a planner for the year ahead. I'm still old school, you know. Even with two smartphones (one personal, one for work) and hundreds of productivity apps at my disposal, nothing beats putting pen to paper. My brain is wired to retain more information that way.

For 2013, I used a Moleskine Le Petit Prince planner. For this coming year though, I decided to get a Belle de Jour Power Planner. I've been a fan of BDJ ever since they started and I got my 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 planners from them. I stopped buying when I felt that the more recent designs left little room for customization though. See my customized 2012 Moonleaf Tea Shop planner here. When I saw samples of the 2014 version, I was sold! It was time to get myself a BDJ planner again. ♡

This arrived early this month, and I seriously had to restrain myself from jotting down anything before I could take some nice photos for posterity. Here are my favorite parts of the Belle de Jour 2014 Power Planner, although I took a photo of almost e-ve-ry part so, yeah, here you go. o(^▽^)o

Blank inside front pages I can fill with my photos with family and friends

A powerful quote

I refer to these as the monthly cover pages hee.
I can also list down books read and movies watched within the month in that blank square at the bottom.

Weekly display
I am really happy with all those blank spaces because blank spaces = more space to write on!

Each month is preceded by an article, with every single one aiming for self-improvement and empowerment.

And of course, what BDJ is known for: coupons!
There are so many and I'm glad because I know I can use most of them! Some, I can give to my girl friends.

Coupon Tracker
Very helpful in, uh, tracking the coupons you've already used, and what you still have left

2014 goals-in-a-glance
I seriously don't know what I'm going to write there yet.

They say you can fulfill your dream better if you create a vision board, thereby inspiring you to work harder towards fulfilling it. I'm going to fill this dream board with stickers and doodles. I can't wait!

I already have a Menstrual Tracker app in my phone, but it might be helpful to have a "physical" version.

(Ulp) Bills Tracker and Cash Flow Tracker
These will be very helpful to me when it comes to managing my finances. I swear I am going to be more responsible by filling out the fields here regularly.

2014 and 2015 in a glance

There is a compartment at the back with a plastic sleeve where you can keep your coupons in and STICKERS! Who doesn't love stickers, right?

As an added bonus to BDJ planner users, everyone also gets a Belle de Jour Lifestyle Card that offers a lot of discounts and freebies from partner establishments!

My favorite is the Free Upsize privilege from all The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf branches!

If I have any gripe about the planner at all, it's that I wish they didn't put ad spots in it. Or if they must, I wish those could have been as inconspicuous as possible. In any case, I've already collated some photos and quotes to print out so I can personalize my Belle de Jour Power Planner. Yay!

I will make my life a masterpiece by being more passionate (if that is even possible), feeding my insatiable hunger for learning, and saying YES to possibilities. Thank you, BDJ team. I can't wait to jump start 2014! I just know this coming year is going to be amazing!

Disclosure: The Belle de Jour 2014 Power Planner was sent to me for free as a "thank you" for my posts about my old BDJ planners. You can get yours by ordering online or by visiting the local bookstore nearest you. All opinions are my own.